Ginn Jump-Starts His Run at Heisman and Lifts Buckeyes

TEMPE, Ariz., Jan. 2 - Before the season, Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State was rated, along with Reggie Bush of Southern California, among the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

Bush had a spectacular autumn and won the trophy convincingly. Ginn had a slightly disappointing year and did not finish among the top five.

But Ginn, a wide receiver, may have improved his candidacy for next season's award when he scored two long touchdowns in the first 16 minutes and gained 240 yards receiving and rushing as the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame, 34-20, in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday.

Another Buckeye who could be a contender for the Heisman is quarterback Troy Smith, who accounted for 342 yards passing and 66 rushing. He often scrambled from the pocket and ran or passed for first downs on third-down plays that kept drives alive.

Aided by linebacker A. J. Hawk, who had two sacks and led the defense in tackles with 12, the fourth-ranked Buckeyes (10-2) held off a comeback by No. 5 Notre Dame (9-3) and won their fourth consecutive bowl game.

Because next season's national championship game will be played at a new stadium in nearby Glendale, Smith was asked about geographical significance. "We like that," he said, smiling. "It sets us up pretty good."

The Irish, who have lost eight consecutive bowl games, cut Ohio State's lead to 27-20 on Darius Walker's third touchdown run of the game with 5 minutes 27 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But Ohio State's Antonio Pittman clinched the victory with a 60-yard touchdown run with 1:46 left.

All of the Buckeyes' touchdowns came on spectacular plays. Ginn scored on a 56-yard pass play and on a 68-yard run, the latter after taking a pitch from Smith and running around left end, then dodging several tacklers and leaving a few of them sprawled on the ground.

Santonio Holmes also scored for the Buckeyes, on an 85-yard passing play.

"When you give up that many big plays, that was disappointing," Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis said.

Two pivotal decisions went against Notre Dame. The second came late in the third quarter when the Irish trailed, 21-13, and it appeared that Ohio State receiver Anthony Gonzalez fumbled after a reception.

Safety Tom Zbikowski of Notre Dame returned the ball for what looked like an 89-yard touchdown. But the play was called back after a video review showed that the pass was incomplete. Ohio State went on to kick a field goal to extend its lead to 24-13.

Rather than attempt a field goal for the lead, Weis called a pass play. Hawk sacked quarterback Brady Quinn for an 8-yard loss. Weis said he did not want to second-guess himself and that he had told his players he would take chances with bold calls.

"It's easy in hindsight to say, 'Hey, take the points,' " Weis said.

As Weis spoke, the card bearing his name fell from the table in front of him onto the floor.

"The name tag should go down," Weis said.

After Weis left, his chair was to be taken by Jim Tressel, the Ohio State coach, but the chair fell apart and clattered to the floor.

"Charlie sat in that?" Tressel said.

A few days ago, Ginn said, "I'm still a defensive back at heart," referring to a position he played in high school in Cleveland. He suggested he might ask to play it next season, too. Regarding the Fiesta, Ginn kept repeating he wanted to "have fun."

Afterward, he said, "I had a lot of fun today." Of his team, he added: "We arrived. We came around."

On Ginn's first touchdown, he lined up wide and to the left and faced Ambrose Wooden in single coverage. He sprinted past Wooden near midfield as Wooden hesitated. Ginn raced under the high arc of Smith's pass, caught it in stride near the goal line and glided, untouched, into the end zone.

The Buckeyes might have had even more points in the first half had they not turned the ball over twice, once at the Ohio State 14 on Smith's fumble after the collapse of the pocket, the other at the Notre Dame 9 when he tried to pitch to Ginn on an option to the right but flipped the ball out of Ginn's reach.

One of the game's many subplots involved Hawk, who is dating Quinn's sister Laura. Interviewed on television during the second half, Laura Quinn said seeing Hawk tackle her brother destroyed her neutrality.